Beyond the Scarlet Curtain
by PinkAphid
Summary: LotRHarry Potter crossover. Vanessa Potter accidentally falls through a mysterious curtain, ending up in Middle Earth. What effect will her powers have on the Fellowship's quest? Or will she take a very different path?
1. Chapter 1

**I've decided to edit this story, because frankly it's embarrassing. These first nine chapters are so cringe-worthy, ugh. I'll be making them a bit better, hopefully, without distorting the storyline. I realise it's almost exactly 3 years since I've done anything on this story, but I really wanted to edit it, if only to appease my own mind. Further chapters will be edited quickly, but new chapters after that may come very slowly I'm afraid, as my priority will be Found, my DMHG fic.  
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**As far as I know, no one has ever done an HP/LotR crossover quite like this before. If there are any out there, I would like to know so I can read them… Please R&R!**

**DISCLAIMER: In no way do I hope to contend with the literary genius that is Tolkien. Everything and everyone belongs to him, except Vanessa, who belongs to me (Hogwarts etc. belong to J.K. Rowling).**

**Chapter 1: The Arrival.**

Vanessa Potter – or Nessa to her friends – was exactly like her father. An incurable passion for adventure and a knack for getting in trouble were her strongest characteristics. But her mother Hermione had passed on her genes too – specifically her talent to pick up spells almost immediately and her insatiable desire to learn as much as possible.

On this particular day, Vanessa and her two friends Daisy Weasley and Cassius Flook were on their way to Defence Against the Dark Arts, one of their favourite lessons. Due to Peeves dropping a long-lasting stink bomb in their Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom their lesson had now been moved to a small room in the west wing of the castle.

'Do you actually know where we're supposed to be going?' asked Daisy uncertainly.

'Sure I do,' replied Vanessa. 'The East Wing.'

'Yeah, but where in the East Wing?'

'Ummmm…' Vanessa realised she wasn't actually sure about that. 'I think McGonagall mentioned something about a fourth-floor corridor…'

'Let's try that staircase,' said Cassius suddenly.

'Ok, what have we got to lose?' agreed Nessa.

They went up the staircase in question, but just as they had reached the third step from the top the staircase suddenly started to move, causing them to momentarily lose their balance.

'Crap! Where is this taking us?' Daisy squeaked.

'Don't know. We may as well find out,' replied Vanessa as the staircase came to a halt.

They stepped off into a narrow dark corridor with no doors leading off.

'I don't think we're in the right place…' said Cassius.

'It was your idea to come up here in the first place,' argued Daisy.

'Come on, I bet there's a door at the end. We might as well explore now we're here,' said Vanessa.

They proceeded cautiously down the dark corridor. It had obviously been unused for some time. Just as Vanessa had predicted, there was a door at the end of the corridor. It was made of a dark, heavy wood – possibly oak – and looked very old. It was standing ajar, and a thin beam of pale light fell through the crack.

'Let's look inside,' whispered Vanessa.

'I have a bad feeling about this…' Daisy whispered back, but the others ignored her.

They entered the room, not knowing what they would find. It took their eyes a little time to get used to the dim light – the only light fell through a little slit of a window high up in the wall of the room. The room itself was completely empty, but at the opposite end to where they were standing they could see another doorway. However, there was no door, just a thick velvet-looking red curtain. Vanessa advanced towards the curtain, which seemed to be swaying slightly, even though there was no breeze.

'What are you doing?' hissed Cassius.

'I just want to look,' Vanessa replied without looking round.

'We're going to be late for class!' complained Daisy.

'We're already too late to bother going; we might as well hang around here for a while. Besides, I want to see what's behind the curtain.'

'Fine. But be quick, this place gives me the creeps,' Cassius urged.

Vanessa was getting closer and closer to the scarlet curtain. When she reached it she realised that the source of the eerie breeze seemed to be a light wind blowing from behind the curtain itself. She lifted the edge and stepped over the threshold into thin air.

Her world went black. She was falling, falling too fast to scream, wind rushed past her, throbbing in her ears. She fell and fell, for what seemed like an eternity, before she hit the ground with a soft thud. She opened her eyes, and knew immediately that she was not in Hogwarts anymore…

**Yes, I know J.K. Rowling already used the idea of going behind a curtain to another place, but it just seemed to be an appropriate way to transport Vanessa to… wherever she's going. I'd really appreciate your ideas on how these edits are going, do you want to see the rest edited? Or is it ok as it is? Especially my old dedicated reviewers, I'd love to hear your opinions if you're still around :)  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 edited!  
**

**From now on this is from Vanessa's point of view. I wanted it to be told from her angle when she was in Middle-Earth. So now you know. P.S. This is mainly based on the movies, as it's easier to refer to the scripts on my computer than the book all the time. I have read the books, but basing it on the movies is just easier.**

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own, can't sue**

So there I was, sitting in the middle of a path winding through these beautiful woods, and I had no idea where I was, or how I had gotten there. I looked around, but I couldn't see anything. But I could hear something – a rustling noise accompanied by some inaudible whispers coming from underneath the big oak tree that stood right in front of me. Ignoring every instinct that told me not to, I crept forward to see what it was.

The next thing that happened was one of the most unexpected things that has ever happened to me. Four little curly-haired heads rose up warily from behind one of the great roots of the tree. They all stared at me for a while with big bright eyes, and I couldn't help staring back. But the most surprising thing about them was their minute size. They appeared to be young men, but they had the height and proportions of children.

The black-haired one spoke first. 'Who are you?

'I… I'm Vanessa,' I replied. 'Could you please tell me where I am?'

'You are in the Shire,' said one of the brown-haired ones.

I almost fainted. Was this for real? The Shire… I couldn't believe it. 'What? The Shire… The Shire in Middle Earth?'

'Yes… Is there something wrong?' said another of the creatures that I figured must be Hobbits.

'Is this some kind of a joke?' I asked. 'This can't seriously be Middle Earth. Are you Hobbits?'

'Yes,' the black haired one said. 'I'm Frodo, this is Sam-' he pointed to the brown-haired one that had told me where I was- 'this is Pippin, and this is Merry. Where are you from, and where are you going?'

This was just getting weirder and weirder. Could I seriously be in Middle Earth? If so, how did I get here? Better check…

'You are Frodo Baggins, of Bag End, Hobbiton?' I asked Frodo.

A look of terror flitted across his face, before he replied. 'Yes… How did you know?'

'I know a lot more than you think. Don't worry!' I added hastily. 'I'm on your side. I know what you are carrying, and I can help you.'

Frodo looked even more scared. 'You know about…'

'Yes. I'll explain later, but we have to go now. Just tell me one thing. Were you hiding under that tree root from a black rider?'

Frodo nodded silently. 'I have to leave the Shire. Sam and I have to get to Bree,' he said.

'Right. Buckleberry Ferry. Follow me,' said Merry.

A Ringwraith screeched behind us. I had never heard a harsher or more terrifying sound in my life. 'RUN!' I screamed, knowing what was in store for us if we didn't hurry. In a flash of inspiration I grabbed my wand from my pocket. 'Celeritate Maxima!' I shouted. The four Hobbits and I instantly sped up. The ferry came into sight shortly. We were almost there when a Ringwraith burst out of the bushes. I managed to dodge ahead and Merry, Pippin, Sam and I jumped onto the boat. Merry untied the ropes quickly. But Frodo was still on land.

'Go Frodo! Hurry! Jump Frodo, jump!' the four hobbits shouted as Frodo managed to escape from beneath the hooves of the Ringwraith's horse. He jumped just in time and made it to the ferry. We were as safe as we could be at that particular moment. I looked over my shoulder. Five Ringwraiths were lined up on the edge of the river.

'How far to the nearest crossing?' asked Frodo breathlessly.

'Brandywine Bridge: Twenty miles,' replied Merry, his eyes still fixed on the receding shoreline.

I noticed Sam looking at me weirdly. 'What?' I asked.

'Why did we run so quickly?'

I coughed. 'Can I explain when we get to the Prancing Pony?' I replied, not wanting to reveal that I was a witch until there was at least small hope of security for a little while. If everything continued to go according to the plot I knew, then we would meet Aragorn soon, which would vastly improve the situation for all of us.

We arrived on the other side of the Brandywine quickly.

'Come on,' said Frodo as we approached a huge door that lead into the village of Bree. A small window slid open and a suspicious-looking pair of eyes peered out at us.

'What do you want?' the Gatekeeper asked.

'We're heading for the Prancing Pony,' replied Frodo.

'Hobbits! Four hobbits! What business brings you to Bree? And who… or what… is your companion?'

'We wish to stay at the inn. Our business is our own. And this is Vanessa. She is a man-girl.'

'All right young sir, I meant no offence. It's my job to ask question after nightfall. There's talk of strange folk abroad. Can't be too careful,' said the Gatekeeper as he opened the door for us.

A short walk brought us to the Prancing Pony. A blast of warmth, noise and the smell of good food greeted us as we entered.

After Frodo had talked briefly with Butterbur the innkeeper we found a table in the far corner of the bar. Merry disappeared in search of ale. Frodo sat quietly, looking dejected.

'What's wrong?' I asked.

'Butterbur said that Gandalf has not been here for six months, but he said that he would meet us here. I am worried that something has happened to him.'

Merry came back carrying a large flagon.

'What's that?' asked Pippin in awe.

'This, my friend, is a pint,' replied Merry.

'They come in pints? I'm getting one!' said Pippin.

'You've had a whole half already!' objected Sam.

'Do you want one Vanessa?' Pippin asked me.

'Oh, no thanks. I'll come with you though, I'm sort of thirsty.'

We walked over to the bar. All the men were staring at me… I bet they'd never seen a woman in a bar before. And to be honest, I did look out of place in my school robes with my bag…

'Excuse me,' I said, trying to get the attention of the barman.

'What do you want?' he replied gruffly.

'My friend would like a pint, and could I have a…' I broke off, not knowing what else they would have here.

'Yes?'

'Ok… what do you have apart from ale?'

'Look lady, this is a bar, we sell ale. Now do you want some or not?'

'Ummm… I'm ok thanks,' I replied.

'Here ya go then,' he said, giving me Pippin's pint.

I took it over to where Pippin was sitting with a shifty-looking man who could have been the stable boy. I looked over to Frodo's table, where he was talking to Barliman Butterbur. Every once in a while they looked over to a dark corner where Aragorn must have been. That meant that Frodo had heard about Strider by now, and that meant that Pippin was just about to reveal his real name…

'Baggins? Sure I know a Baggins. He's over there, Frodo Baggins. He's my second cousin once removed on his mother's side and my third cousin twice removed on his father's side, if you follow me,' Pippin said loudly.

'Pippin!' Frodo shouted, running over to the bar to shut him up before he said too much.

A man knocked into me from behind, making me spill some of Pippin's ale. 'Watch it!' I complained, but the man ignored me. I turned back just in time to see Frodo slip on the ale, throwing up the Ring that was in his hand as he fell. Instinctively, I reached out and caught the Ring as if it were the snitch. Frodo got up and looked at me harshly.

'Give it back,' he said. So the Ring was already taking control…

'Here you go. But keep it secret and safe in the future, ok?' I smiled at him as he took the Ring and pocketed it.

Was that my test? How did I manage to resist the Ring's power? I didn't know, and it worried me.

'Come on, we have to meet someone,' I said, realising that by saving Frodo from donning the Ring we had failed to alert Strider, who was still in his corner.

'Who?' asked Frodo.

'Come with me. The others have to come too,' I replied.

I led the four hobbits over to Strider's table, feeling a bit self-conscious. How was I going to greet him?

'Hello Aragorn,' I said nervously. 'You're here to help us, right?'

Aragorn was staring at me. Silently, he got up and walked over to the stairs at the back of the inn, which presumably led up to the bedrooms.

'Follow him,' I said.

He led us into a small yet very cosy man-sized room. 'There are many questions I want to ask you my lady. But won't you tell me about yourself first? Then we can get on to the matter of how you know my name,' he said as soon as we got into the room.

'Yes, tell us about yourself. We hardly know anything about you,' said Merry.

'Ok. My name is Vanessa, but all my friends call me Nessa. I come from a place that's further away than anyone in Middle-Earth has ever been. You probably won't be able to understand this, but I come from a country called England, and it's in a different world to this.' Their stunned faces said it all – they didn't believe me. 'How can I prove it to you?' I asked.

'You don't have to. That would make a lot of sense,' said Aragorn. 'No one has clothes like that in Middle-Earth, and your bag is strange too.'

'And you've never had ale,' Pippin pointed out.

'Thank Merlin you believe me. I don't know how I would have explained otherwise,' I said.

'That doesn't explain how you know my name,' Aragorn said.

'Or mine,' agreed Frodo.

'Ah. Well, that's a bit more complicated. You see…' I paused. Was it a good thing to tell them about the books? I had my three-in-one copy with me in my bag – always good for distraction in History of Magic – but I knew it would not be a good idea to show it to just anyone. _Then again_, I thought, _my coming here as already made a great change in the plot. I need some explanation, so I may as well tell them_. I took a deep breath and continued. 'Back in my world a man called J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a book, and that book was called Lord of the Rings. It tells the tale of Frodo Baggins, and his quest to take the Ring to Mordor.'

'It tells my story?' Frodo was amazed.

'Yes, and no. It also tells the story of everyone around you.'

'That's how you knew about the Ring and everything,' Frodo realised.

Aragorn was just staring at me. I was beginning to feel a bit uneasy. I stepped backwards, bumping into a table. Unfortunately my bag bumped into the table too, which was enough to make a candlestick topple over onto a pile of papers, instantly setting them alight. I whipped out my wand without thinking, and muttered _Aguamenti_ hurriedly. A jet of water shot out of my wand, extinguishing the flames but reducing the papers to a pile of charred mush. I hoped they weren't anything important… Turning back to face the others, I blushed under their astonished gazes.

'How did you do that?' Sam gasped.

'We have clearly underestimated you Vanessa. You have some power with you that has never been seen before here in Middle-Earth. How did you do that?' asked Aragorn.

'Yeah… that's another thing about me. I'm a witch – a female wizard. But not like Gandalf,' I added, seeing their faces. 'I'm a different sort of witch. I'm not one of the Istari or anything like Gandalf is. In my world there are lots of witches and wizards, and they look just like normal people, but they can do magic. I was at Hogwarts when I came here. Hogwarts is a school for witches and wizards where they teach things like how to turn things into other things, how to tell the future, how to charm and curse things, and loads of other stuff. _Aguamenti _is just a simple water charm,' I continued.

'Are you as powerful as Gandalf?' asked Merry in awe.

'I'm powerful in a different way,' I replied carefully.

'Can you show us some of your magic?' asked Sam.

'Of course! What would you like me to do?'

'Can you change this cup into something else?' Pippin asked.

A sudden wind blew in through the open window. A cruel wind.

'They are coming,' interrupted Aragorn.

I knew immediately who he meant. 'Where are your rooms?' I asked the hobbits.

'Further up the corridor.'

'I'll be right back,' I said, ignoring their questioning faces.

I soon found the rooms. It was obvious which ones belonged to the hobbits – everything was a lot smaller. I knew what I had to do, and I knew I had to do it quickly. The Nazgûl were coming. I stuffed each bed with pillows, bunching the blankets up to look like bodies. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. I hurried back to Aragorn's room, just in time. A door banged open below.

'They are here,' said Frodo.

'You must stay here, you cannot go to your own rooms,' I said.

'They'll notice we're not there,' said Sam.

'No they won't. I stuffed the beds with pillows so it looks like there are bodies in them. Besides, the Na- black riders can't see very well. You'll be safe tonight.'

The harsh, angry screams of the Nazgûl rang throughout the inn as they discovered that they had been tricked.

'What are they?' Frodo asked Aragorn.

'They were once Men – Great Kings of Men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question, one by one falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will,' Aragorn replied.

I followed his gaze out of the window, where I could see the four ringwraiths mounting their horses and riding off.

'They are the Nazgûl, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the Ring, drawn to the power of the One. They will never stop hunting you.'

**Wow. That was the longest chapter I've ever written! Although I suppose a lot of it was just straight from the movie… If anyone has any ideas about what Vanessa should get up to in Middle Earth I'd like to hear them so please review! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Phew. This took a while to write. Most of this doesn't actually happen in the movie, so I had to make it all up… p.s. I'm sorry if Aragorn is a little out of character here… but I had to change him a little bit to fit properly. DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to Tolkien except Vanessa.**

We were off early the next morning for Rivendell, after I had bought some boots at the only shop in Bree. The scenery around us was still pretty much exactly the same as in England.

'Where are you taking us?' Frodo asked Aragorn anxiously.

'Into the wild,' he replied gruffly.

'How do we know this Strider is a friend of Gandalf?' I overheard Merry whisper to Frodo.

'I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer and feel fouler,' Frodo whispered back.

I sniggered, thinking of the reaction that would provoke back home. Home… I was missing it already. Had I really disappeared from Earth? Was I here instead of there? Or was I still at Hogwarts but in Middle-Earth at the same time?

'He's foul enough,' muttered Merry angrily.

'We have no choice to trust him. Besides, Vanessa trusts him and she knows a lot more about this than we do,' replied Frodo.

I smiled inside. That's so sweet! They trust him because I do!

'But where is he leading us?' whispered Sam.

'To Rivendell, Master Gamgee. To the House of Elrond,' said Aragorn.

Sam was breathless with excitement. 'Did you hear that! Rivendell! We're going to see the elves!'

We walked on for a while longer without stopping. I don't think I had ever walked as far or as fast as we did then, but I knew it was going to get worse, so I tried not to complain.

After a while the hobbits stopped for a rest and began to unload pots and pans from Bill the pony.

'We do not stop until nightfall,' said Aragorn.

'But what about breakfast!' asked Pippin, outraged.

'You've already had it.'

'We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?' replied Pippin matter-of-factly.

'I don't think he knows about second breakfast Pip,' said Merry.

'Are you really that hungry?' I asked.

Pippin nodded.

'Hang on, I think I might have some food in my bag,' I said, rummaging through. 'Ah-ha! Here you go! It might be a bit old, but I think it's still ok.'

'What is it?' he asked.

'Chocolate. Go on, try it, it's delicious. Not really an entire meal, but it'll keep you going. Eat as much as you want, I've got loads.'

Pippin nibbled apprehensively at the corner of the Honeydukes' bar I had given him. His face screwed up. 'Ugh! That's gross!'

'What! You can't think chocolate is gross! Everyone loves chocolate! Give it here,' I said, snatching it from him. I took a bite. 'It's fine! Ah well, more for me I guess.'

'Have you got any more food?' Pippin asked.

'Perhaps, but I don't know if you would like it. Ooh, here's a banana from breakfast. It's a bit old… But if you cut the bruised bits off it'll be fine.'

Pippin looked nervously at the banana. 'I've never seen one of these before,' he said. 'You have strange food.'

'Try it.'

He took a bite, and seemed to like it enough. 'Thanks,' he said, but his speech was muffled by a mouthful of banana.

We walked on for a while more. It was beginning to get dark, and we had reached the Midgewater Marshes. It was quite possibly the worst place I had ever been. Thousands of midges hung around in big clouds just at head level, so whenever you ran into a cloud you got a mouthful. The worst of it was that the ground underfoot was disgusting and wet – there were little pools everywhere to trip into. At least I had proper boots on.

'What do they eat when they can't get hobbits?' spat Merry as he ran into another cloud. Minutes later Pippin tripped over, landing face first in one of the larger pools. He was soaking wet from head to toe when he got up.

'Pippin, come here,' I called in a flash of inspiration.

Pippin obediently came, but looked a bit cautious. 'What? Aaah…' he broke off as he saw my wand pointed straight at him.

'Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you,' I laughed. '_Tergeo_.' It seemed to work well enough at cleaning Pippin's clothes, and at least he was drier.

'Wow!' he stared at me in awe.

'Hurry up you two, we cannot delay any longer than we have to,' called Aragorn, who by this time was far ahead of us.

We stopped for the night on the driest patch of solid ground we could find. Sam started unloading pots and pans while Aragorn sent Merry and Pippin off to find firewood. They returned later with a bundle of logs and sticks.

'This is no good, they're all wet,' said Aragorn.

'Don't worry, leave it to me.' I said, using my wand to dry the wood. 'There. Dry as a bone. Do you want me to get the fire going quickly?'

'If you could, that would be excellent. Your powers seem more astonishing every day,' replied Aragorn.

'Oh any second year can light a fire. It's one of the easiest charms you learn. _Incendio_!' The logs burst up in flames. I was getting used to the stunned looks on the hobbits' faces by now.

After about half an hour we were sitting huddled around the fire eating slightly burnt sausages.

'Nessa, do you know any good songs?' asked Sam. 'Only I'd love to hear a song from your world that I've never heard before.'

'Oh yeah, I know lots of good songs. At least, I think they're good, but I don't know whether they're quite your taste…'

'Try us,' challenged Frodo.

'Ok,' I accepted. 'What kind of song do you want me to sing?'

'One with a story behind it,' replied Pippin.

'A song with a story… I don't really know many like that. Most of the songs I know are about love, or the lack of it. But what about this one?' I began to sing one from the Muggle film, wondering how they would react.

_Lay down your sweet and weary head_

_Night is falling, you have come to journey's end_

_Sleep now, and dream of the ones who came before_

_They are calling, from across a distant shore._

_Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face?_

_Soon you will see, all of your fears will pass away_

_And you'll be safe in my arms, just sleeping_

_What can you see? On the horizon?_

_Why do the white gulls call?_

_Across the sea, a pale moon rises_

_The ships have come to carry you home._

_Dawn will turn to silver glass_

_Light on the water, all souls pass_

_Hope fades into the world of night_

_Through shadows falling out of memory and time_

_Don't say we have come now to the end_

_White shores are calling_

_You and I will meet again_

_And you'll be here in my arms, just sleeping_

_What can you see? On the horizon?_

_Why do the white gulls call?_

_Across the sea, a pale moon rises_

_The ships have come to carry you home._

_And all will turn to silver glass_

_Light on the water, grey ships pass_

_Into the West_

It was a while before anyone spoke.

'What's it about?' asked Pippin.

'Death, I think,' I replied.

'What do you mean?' asked Frodo.

I tried to remember what Gandalf said to Pippin in Minas Tirith. 'It's saying that death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass. And then you see the white shores, and beyond… a far green country under a swift sunrise.'

'Oh…'

'It's getting late. We should go to sleep if we are to have enough energy tomorrow to get as close to Rivendell as possible,' said Aragorn, breaking the mood a bit.

The hobbits looked reluctant, but were too scared of Strider to argue. I got out my blanket, which Barliman had given to me on our departure. It was getting a lot colder. Finding the driest, comfiest spot I could I settled down to sleep.

I was woken a few hours later by a man's voice singing. It was a beautiful voice, rich and deep, and it was singing an elvish song. I realised it was Aragorn singing. I sat up and looked over to where he sat by the dying embers of the fire, his face glowing in the orange-red light.

'It is a sad story you sing of,' I said quietly.

'You know of whom I sing?' he asked.

'You sing of Luthien Tinuviel, who gave up her immortality to be with the one she loved,' I replied.

'How do you know that?' he asked, surprised.

'The books, remember?' Ok, so he sang in the movies, not the books, but I really didn't feel like trying to explain how movies worked.

'Ah, of course.'

'That song… The words… Grey ships sailing into the West. Your knowledge of our world seems to surpass many of those who live here.'

'You mean the elves leaving Middle Earth to Valinor? And I doubt that I'm above most others, although I've only met you and the hobbits.'

'Yes. And it is a good thing that the hobbits know little. If they knew too much of the horrors that lay ahead of them they would turn back.'

'You underestimate their courage. I know what will happen to everyone here, and even the hobbits will prove themselves worthy of great renown in one way or another,' I contradicted.

'You are very mysterious my lady. You do not give much away,' he said, turning to look at me.

'I don't give much away because I don't want to influence any decision of anyone here in case it has a changing effect on the ending of this story. And please, call me Vanessa, or Nessa,' I replied.

'Alright – Vanessa. But you should be sleeping. You need to regain energy if we are to get to Weathertop by nightfall tomorrow. I presume you know all about Weathertop?' he said.

'Oh yes. Well, goodnight.'

'Goodnight.'

I returned to my blanket and tried to get warm again. Aragorn was still sitting by the dying fire when I fell asleep.

**The song was _Into the West_, by Annie Lennox (if you didn't know, then shame on you I guess!) I'll keep the review replies in the edited versions for posterity :)  
**

**Wow! I've had more reviews for these first chapters than any other of my fics! (Apart from The Mystery of the Ticklish Pear, but that's longer…)**

**IwishChan: Thank you! Yeah there aren't many HP/LotR crossovers that I know of either.**

**Coolmarauders: hope this update came soon enough! Please don't chop of my head with your Mace of Doom! Remember, if you kill me, you won't get an update. P.S. I read your bio- GO PRONGS! Aragorn is sooo hot! Keep defending him!**

**Lily Took: Thanks. Don't worry, I am continuing with it. Methinks Gandalf should come along around chapter 5 or so.**

**Wacko the Sane: I told you, it's not exactly a Mary Sue. You'll see… Why do you always review so negatively:p**

**Kurleyhawk2: thanks. Here they come.**

**SHINE: thank you! If you review again could you please leave a signed review? (if you have an account that is) cos I'd like to see ur bio page.**


	4. Chapter 4

Wow, this is a short chapter… sorry… It might have something to do with the lack of chocolate… hint hint. Here comes the action! I hope what happens is unexpected- I want to make this story as original as possible, and not just some other boring Mary-Sue. On to Weathertop!

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own, can't sue.**

CHAPTER 4

I was woken early next morning by Sam shaking me.

'Ugh…' I grunted, 'What time is it?'

'Nearly 6 o'clock Vanessa. Strider says we must be getting on if we're to get to Weathertop by nightfall,' Sam replied.

'6 O'CLOCK!' I shouted. 'What are we doing up at 6 o'clock? No one gets up that early!'

'Of course they do. Now get ready quickly, we need to be going,' said Aragorn.

I jumped. 'Where did you come from?'

'I can walk very quietly should the occasion arise.'

'Fine. Is there any clean water around here?' I asked. I hadn't washed my hair for at least three days, and it was getting really greasy. Luckily, I had a wash bag with me- the only way to stop pesky 4th years stealing your shampoo was to take it round with you. A bit annoying, but if you shrunk it down it hardly took up any room so it was ok.

'There's a stream over there my lady,' replied Aragorn, pointing over to my left.

'Thanks. And it's Vanessa, ok?' I said huffily. I still wasn't awake yet.

The stream was freezing cold. Even the Hogwarts Lake wasn't this cold usually. I quickly washed my face and hands, but decided against hair. We would be in Rivendell tomorrow anyway, where they would be able to get me some warm water.

Half an hour later (I managed to get ready faster than I ever had before) we were walking again. We walked for hours, not pausing for lunch- just eating while walking (we had some sausages left over from last night).

As Aragorn had predicted, we reached Weathertop by nightfall. We set up camp in a cave half way up the hill. Aragorn brought a large bundle out of his pack.

'These are for you,' he said as he gave the bundles to the hobbits. 'Keep them close. I'm going to have a look around. Stay here.' He turned to me. 'I have no sword for you. Should we be attacked, get out of the way as quickly as possible without being seen. Secrecy is your best defence.'

'No really, I'm fine with my wand. I can take care of myself,' I assured him.

'I hope you will not have to,' he replied, before leaving the cave and setting off down the cliff.

Sam was setting up a fire to cook dinner. Frodo, who was completely exhausted, had fallen to sleep almost immediately getting his sword.

'Please can you light the fire for us?' Pippin asked me.

'Sure. Incendo,' I said and the logs burst up in flames. Sam began to cook the sausages, tomatoes and bacon.

The sound of our voices must have woken Frodo, for all of a sudden he leapt up. 'What are you doing?' he shouted.

'Tomatoes, sausages, nice crispy bacon,' said Merry.

'We saved some for you Mr. Frodo,' added Sam.

Frodo wasn't tempted. 'Put it out you fools! Put it out!' he cried desperately.

'Oh that's nice! Ash on my tomatoes!' complained Pippin indignantly.

We were all silenced as a terrifying screech reached our ears. The Nazgúl were coming.

'GO!' Frodo shouted, motioning us to get up the hill. I was scared stiff at the prospect of meeting the Nazgúl again, but I followed the hobbits to the top of Amon Sûl, hoping that my wand would be enough to protect me. I knew some pretty harmful curses, but I didn't know whether they would work against the evil creatures. I would soon find out…

We got to the top and clustered together so we could see in all directions. The hobbits drew their little swords and I drew my wand. _'What curses can I use on them?' _I thought, '_I can't quite imagine something like jelly legs working. I wonder… oooh that's an idea…' _I had thought of something brilliant. Or it would be brilliant if it worked…

We didn't have to wait long for the Nazgúl to arrive. Five of them rose out of the mist on the edge of the hill, and came towards us with their swords drawn. They looked seriously lethal. There was no way I would be able to block one of them apart from dodging…_ ' At least with me it's a fairer match than in the movie,'_ I thought.

A ringwraith was coming towards me. Without thinking, I tried the last I thought would work. I concentrated as hard as I could on saying the words properly, and wished as hard as I could that it would work, as I said '_AVADA KEDAVRA!' _A bolt of bright green light shot from the end of my wand. I felt a wave of power rush through me, so strong that I almost fell over. But somehow I knew I had to stay standing, or it wouldn't work. The curse hit the ringwraith full on. To my complete amazement, it worked. The ringwraith collapsed where he was standing, his sword clattering on the hard stone floor. Three of the four remaining Nazgúl wheeled round and screeched loudly. They were coming towards me… but that one curse had taken so much energy out of me I knew I would not be able to protect myself against them. The three of them were coming closer and closer- I could feel there coldness, they were like Dementors. _'Dementors! The Patronus!'_ I felt a wave of relief as I realised I did have a chance. I tried to think of the happiest thing I could. _'My first day at Hogwarts… Meeting Jasmine and Lauren for the first time… Winning the Quidditch Cup… When Phoenix was born…' _'EXPECTO PATRONUM!' I cried. It seemed to be enough. The Nazgúl obviously didn't have a knack of draining all thought of happiness out of you, like Dementors did. My Patronus leapt up out of thin air- a grey wolf. It growled at the Nazgúl and ran towards them. The Nazgúl backed away from it towards the edge of the hill. It was at this moment that Aragorn arrived to save us. I managed to stay conscious for long enough to see him fend off the Nazgúl further, but when my Patronus faded, so did I.

A/N: Deepest apologies- I know that chapter was about three pages less than normal, but it seemed like a good place to stop. Please review! I need ideas…

**- Phoenix is Vanessa's little sister and Harry and Hermione's second daughter. **

**REVIEW RESPONSES:**

**IwishChan: Chocolate and banana is one of the best food pairings… yummy…**

**marauderluver: 'Into the West' is one of the best songs written for a movie ever. That and the other LotR songs, and 'Land of Bear and Land of Eagle' (King Arthur) and 'Now We Are Free' (Gladiator). It'll be another two chapters at least before she meets Legolas though…**

**Primevera Took: Have you managed to hear Good Riddance yet? Hope the Weathertop scene here lived up to expectations.**

**Wacko the Sane: Grrrr… >( keep that tone up and I'll never make you any more lembas. Negative: Of course you're allowed to use real names! And fyi, loads of other people copy text. Do you want me to completely ruin Tolkien's work by changing everything? Positive: It's nice to know that you're finally bothering to read something of mine.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Just for clarification: _Italics _are elvish and thoughts (it should be obvious which is which…) and the English translations of the elvish are written after the elvish (but in brackets). Also: I know Aragorn is acting a bit out of character- I know he should be portrayed as someone who knows pretty much everything, but understand that no one, not even Elrond and Gandalf, knows why Vanessa has come. I'll try to make Aragorn less naïve in future though… P.S. Chapters may come more slowly from now on cos I haven't written them yet...**

DISCLAIMER: See other chapters. Why do we always have to do these things? Grrrrrr… -(

CHAPTER 5

I don't know how long I was unconscious for, but I woke up in the middle of a forest. I tried to sit up, but I still wasn't strong enough.

'Nessa! You're awake!' a voice cried. It sounded like Pippin but I couldn't see him properly.

'I can't sit up,' I replied weakly. A pair of strong arms lifted me and leant me against a tree.

'Is that better?' the voice the arms belonged to asked. I realised it was Aragorn. 'Rest. You have done a great deed for us, but it has obviously taken a lot out of you.'

'That's much better, thank you,' I said, trying not to reveal what I was thinking right then. _'Aragorn carried me!' _I looked around more closely at our surroundings. We were in a forest, as I had supposed. Frodo lay nearby, gasping in pain from his wound. Aragorn left me and went to tend to him. A beautiful woman followed him. She was clothed in a dark green dress, and was leading a white horse. Arwen.

Arwen approached Frodo. '_Im Arwen. Telin le thaed. Lasto beth nin. Tolo dan na galad _(I am Arwen. I have come to help you. Hear my voice. Come back to the light)' she said.

'Who is she?' asked Merry.

'She's an elf,' replied Sam in awe.

Arwen and Aragorn were kneeling beside Frodo. Frodo gasped again as Aragorn placed athelas on his wound.

'He's not going to last,' said Arwen. 'We must get him to my father. I have been looking for you for two days.'

'Where are you taking him?' asked Merry.

No one seemed to be paying any attention to his question, so I answered. 'The elf is going to take Frodo to Rivendell.'

Arwen continued. 'There are five wraiths behind you. Where the other four are I do not know.'

'Make that four wraiths behind us,' I said.

Arwen turned to me. 'What do you mean?'

I thought it a bit strange that she didn't ask who I was, but I figured maybe Aragorn had already told her about me. 'I mean what I say. There are only four wraiths on our tail. I don't know where the other four are either,' I answered her.

'Are there not nine wraiths?' Arwen asked Aragorn.

'All will be explained,' he whispered back. 'But now we must get Frodo to Imladris before he fades beyond help. _Dartho guin Perian. Rych le ad tolthathon._ (Stay with the Hobbits. I will send horses again for you).'

'_Hon mabathon. Rochon ellint im._ (I'm the faster rider. I'll take him)' replied Arwen indignantly.

'_Andelu i ven._ (The road is too dangerous),' Aragorn argued.

'What are they saying?' asked Pippin. I told him they were arguing over who was going to take Frodo to Rivendell.

'_Frodo fir. Ae athradon i hir, tur gwaith nin beriatha hon._ (Frodo dies. If I can get across the river, the power of my people will protect him),' Arwen said. 'I do not fear them.'

'_Be iest lin_. (According to your wish),' Aragorn relented. '

Arwen mounted Asfaloth with Frodo sitting in front of her. 'Arwen! Ride hard! Don't look back,' commanded Aragorn.

'_Noro lim, Asfaloth, noro lim!_ (Ride fast Asfaloth, ride fast!),' Arwen said. She galloped off through the wood.

'What are you doing? Those wraiths are still out there!' Sam shouted furiously.

'If he stayed with us, he would not have made it to Rivendell. It is still a day's walk away at least,' Aragorn replied.

'Don't worry Sam. Arwen's a fast rider, Frodo will be safe,' I reassured him.

'We must be off soon. Are you strong enough to walk?' Aragorn asked me.

'I think so,' I replied. Tentatively I tried to stand up, and realised I could. I tried to walk, and realised I could do that too.

We set off towards Rivendell. After last night, you could tell the remaining hobbits were more than a little scared of what dangers surrounded them.

'May I have a word?' Aragorn asked me softly. I couldn't walk very fast, and the hobbits were all in front of us.

'Yeah sure,' I said.

'Is it unusual for witches of your age to be able to kill without using weapons?'

'Well, only wizards and witches actually have the potential to be able to kill people, and there aren't as many of them as there are muggles- you know, non-magical people. But it's illegal to perform that or any other of the Unforgivable Curses on another person. If you do, you're likely to spend the rest of your life in prison. And as far as I know, no student of my age has ever managed to perform an Unforgivable Curse apart from my father, who was one of the most powerful good wizards of all time and managed to defeat the Dark Lord of my world- Voldemort- who's very like Sauron. I don't know how I managed to do it, but maybe it's something to do with being in this world,' I explained.

Aragorn paused to take this all in before continuing. 'I do not think that you know the extent of your own powers my lady. In killing that wraith you drew Sauron's attention towards you. Never, in thousands of years, has anyone managed to kill one of the Nazgul. You have put yourself in a position of great danger. I know the ways of the enemy Sauron will now be hunting you as well as Frodo. He will know by now that we have a traveller with us who wields a great power- perhaps strong enough to contend with his own. That was not a wise thing for you to do.'

This news shocked me. _'How could I have been so stupid? Of course Sauron knows what I've done by now. He's going to come after me…'_ I thought.

The look on my face must have revealed what I was thinking, because Aragorn spoke again. 'Do not worry, I will protect you- as far as it is within my power to do so. We shall soon arrive in Rivendell, at the house of the lord Elrond. He will have foreseen your coming, and will know what to do about the situation you have landed yourself in.'

We made better time than we'd anticipated, and arrived in Rivendell after only two more days of walking. According to the date on my watch, it was the 24th of October. The day Frodo woke up… _'Yay! The Council is held tomorrow!' _I thought.

Rivendell was amazingly beautiful. There were streams and waterfalls everywhere with intricately carved wooden bridges over them, and the air was heavy with the delicious scent of many exquisite flowers and plants that I'd never seen before. I didn't have much time to stand and stare though. Sam wanted to see Frodo immediately, so the hobbits were led off to his room while Aragorn and I continued to the hall.

A tall blonde elf came to lead us to Elrond. He didn't say much, but he gave me a questioning look. Aragorn said something in Elvish and the elf seemed satisfied. We made our way along a narrow winding path lined with tall slender trees that looked a bit like birches. After about ten minutes we arrived at a long low white building with lots of arches. Incredibly, it looked exactly like in the movies. We were led down a long airy corridor to a big hall- not an entrance hall but a grand big hall that looked like it would be used for lectures or something back on Earth.

Elrond was sitting on an elaborately carved wooden chair draped with a greeny-silvery material. He looked at us sternly, but not unfriendly-ly. (A/N that's a word now).

He spoke to us in a deep, regal voice. Even if he had been dressed like a hobo begging on a street corner you would have known he was a king just from his voice. 'I was not expecting a girl accompanying you. Tell me, what is your name and where do you hail from?'

'I'm Vanessa, or Nessa for short, and I don't come from anywhere known by anyone here,' I answered him. I was surprised that he had not foreseen my coming- especially since Aragorn had said that he would- but I didn't think it would be very respectable to ask.

'Vanessa. That is a strange name. I do not think it would be wise to go by the name of Nessa while in Rivendell. Do you know what significance that has to the race of elves?'

'I'm sorry if I offended you, I meant no blasphemy. I do know that Nessa is one of the Valar, but I do not know much more than that. My friends back home call me Nessa because it's shorter and easier than Vanessa.'

'That explains it. However, I did not ask where you do not come from, I asked where you do come from. Please be more specific,' he said.

I hesitated only slightly before answering him. 'I come from a place called England, which is a country in a different world to this. I came here through a curtain which I found in room in my school while I was looking for my Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom with my friends.' I wasn't sure if he would believe me, but he seemed to.

'That is a strange story indeed. Tell me of your school, for there must be some link between our world and yours that has something to do with this school of yours,' said Elrond.

'My school is called Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All the pupils there are either witches or wizards, and we are taught how to cast spells, make potions, transform objects, tell the future, defend ourselves against dark forces, and lots of other stuff,' I replied.

'What are these witches you speak of?' he asked me.

'Witches are female wizards, except wizards in our world are very different to wizards here. We are just ordinary people, we are not Maia. There are many more than six of us, and our powers are quite different.'

This comment sparked expressions of amazement from everyone around me. 'Your knowledge of our world astounds me! How do you know of the Istari if you are not of this world? I should think that even the majority of the people living here do not know that!' Elrond said.

Ugh. Obviously I was going to have to explain everything again. 'In my world there is a book called 'The Lord of the Rings' and it tells all about the quest to attempt to destroy the ring,' I said, choosing my words carefully. I didn't want to give away the end of the story.

'So you know of the ring, and its powers?' Lord Elrond looked at my sceptically.

'Yes,' I replied simply.

'How can we tell that your story is the truth?' Elrond asked me.

'Well, firstly- do you really think that I would have been able to make up a story that preposterous?' I asked. 'From the look on your face, no. Secondly, if you need more proof than that, I can tell you many things that no common person here would know.'

'If you can prove that to us, then by all means, go ahead.'

'I have already proved it to you. You seemed surprised that I knew about the Istari, and the Maia, and the Valar. But if you want more proof than that…' I hesitated, not knowing what else to say that would prove my story was true. I made a quick decision not to speak in the Black Tongue. 'One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Lands of Mordor, where the shadows lie.'

'Where did you learn that?' asked Elrond. He looked harshly at me.

'In the book I was telling you about. It also know it in Black Speech, but I know elves don't like hearing that, so I said it in Common Tongue. Have I convinced you yet my lord?'

'Clearly you are who you say you are. I am sorry I doubted you.'

'Don't worry about it,' I assured him.

'You may go now. Orodreth, please show our guests to their rooms,' Elrond commanded. He then said something in Elvish that I didn't understand. Orodreth nodded in compliance. 'Oh, and Vanessa,' Elrond called me back. 'May I please have a look at this book of yours?'

'Of course,' I said. I rummaged round in my bag for a while before I found it. The one annoying thing with shrinking things down is that they're really hard to find later. 'Engorgio!' I said, and the book returned to it's original size. I handed it over to Elrond, who looked doubtfully at the cover. Obviously he had never seen a paperback before…

'This is indeed a strange book. And I see that you do indeed have magical powers of some kind. Thank you. I shall return it to you soon,' Elrond said.

'Don't mention it. You can keep it for as long as you like,' I replied, before following Orodreth out of the hall.

**Hey I know the timing was a bit screwed up (they got to Rivendell earlier than the 24th I think) but I didn't want to drag on about what they got up to in Rivendell. I like action, and I expect a lot of you do too. **

REVIEW RESPONSES:

Wacko the Sane: She didn't fade like Frodo faded, she just kind of... I dunno. It's descriptive. Ignore it. By the way, she did kill the ringwraith. For now anyway... (oops... plot spoiler... gaahh!)  
IwishChan: Yup, as you can see, Vanessa is quite alright!  
Snowfire the Kitsune: Yes, you can just say wow if you really think it's that good! Thanks! That's about the nicest review I've ever had... sniff :D  
Primevera Took: Nah, she won't get in trouble cos there's no one to punish her... that's how I see it anyways. Thanks!  
James: thanks. can you leave a signed review next time if you have an account?


	6. Chapter 6

**Enter Arwen! I know she's a bit out of character (ok, maybe a LOT out of character) but Vanessa needs a friend. In reference to spells: The enlargement spell is different from now on, because I've found the right way to phrase it, but I can't be bothered to go back and change it in the rest of the chapters. Phew! Only 3 DAYS LEFT before Spring Break! WHOOOOOOOOO!**

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Grrrrrrrrrr.**

CHAPTER 6

Orodreth led me down corridor much like the ones before. Aragorn was nowhere to be seen- but seeing as he knew his way around and everything he was probably just making his own way to wherever his room was.

My room was amazing! Exactly like Frodo's in the movie- the big arched windows opened straight out onto a beautiful garden where I could see some elves sitting on a bench beneath a tree. I turned to Orodreth.

'Is this satisfactory my lady?' he asked.

'It's beautiful, thank you! And please, call me Vanessa,' I replied.

'Very well- Vanessa. I will leave you now to get used to your surroundings. Feel free to wonder around anywhere. Would you like me to send a guide to show you around?'

'That would be great, thank you!'

He just smiled and nodded, closing the door behind him. I took a closer look at the room itself. The bed was huge- easily big enough for three people to sleep together comfortably. (A/N: Get your minds out of the gutter people!) It was made from a light wood, like beech, and had intricate flowers carved into the bedstead. The sheets were made of some gorgeously soft white material that wasn't like any I had felt before. On either side of the bed stood a small table carved from the same wood as the bed. Opposite the bed was a washstand- like those ones you see in Victorian houses with the jug and the bowl. A sponge and a towel lay beside the jug, which was empty at the moment. Beside the washstand was a large wardrobe. I opened it to find it full of the most dazzling dresses I'd ever laid eyes on. _Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor were nothing compared to the designers here,' _I thought. I wasn't known for being a particularly dress-loving girl, but I knew a pretty dress when I saw one, and these were definitely pretty dresses. I was still staring at them when I heard a soft knock on my door.

'Come in,' I said, turning to the door to see who it was.

Arwen entered. 'Hello,' she greeted me.

'Uhhh… hi,' I said. Ok, so it wasn't one of my most eloquent moments, but what else was I to say to a princess? I was kind of lost for words.

Arwen sat down on my bed and looked at my bag with interest. 'What is this?' she asked, picking it up and looking inside.

'That's my bag,' I replied simply. What did she think it was?

'I've never seen any bag like this before,' she said. 'It's very… unusual. Are all bags like this in your world?' She laughed at my confused face. 'Aragorn told me about where you come from,' she explained.

'Oh… right… Not all bags are like that in my world,' I replied. 'There are lots and lots of different kinds of bags. No one else at my school has a bag exactly like that though. I'm the only one with a beaver on their bag.'

'A beaver?' She looked at me quizzically. I walked over to the bed and sat down.

'That's a beaver,' I said, pointing to the front of my bag where there was indeed a beaver.

'Oh,' she said. 'We have no animals like that here. May I see what is in your bag?'

'Sure,' I answered, tipping the bag upside-down. A myriad of tiny things fell out onto the bed. 'Whoa. I'd forgotten how much I had in there!' I laughed.

'Why is everything so… small?' Arwen asked.

'Did Aragorn tell you I was a witch?' I asked. Arwen nodded. 'Well, one of the things witched are able to do is shrink things. I shrink everything I put in my bag, so I can fit more stuff in and it's lighter. Then when I want to use it, I just make it bigger again,' I explained.

'Ai! So what is all this stuff?' she asked, gesturing to the pile of things on the bed.

' Maior omnia!' I said, causing everything on the bed to grow back to its right size. Arwen was looking at the all of my stuff, and showing particular interest in my photo album. 'What's this?' she asked, showing it to me.

'That's a photo album. It's where I put all the photos I have of me and my friends.'

'Photographs?' Arwen said the new word carefully, trying to pronounce it properly.

'In my world there are things called cameras, and I'm not sure how they work exactly, but you press a button and you get a picture of whatever the camera was pointing at,' I explained.

'Oh Iluvatar!' Arwen gasped as she saw the photos. 'They're moving! How do they do that?'

'Magic,' I replied simply. 'In the muggle- non magical- photos people stay still, but in magic photos they can move.'

'You world is truly amazing,' she said, and then she reluctantly tore her eyes away from the photo of me with Jasmine and Lauren at Christmas and looked at me. 'I do not know what my father has told you, or whether he knows why you are here, but after meeting you I believe it cannot be chance. You have come for a reason Vanessa. You just need to find out what that reason is.'

I didn't know what to say. Thankfully, we were saved from an awkward silence by a knock on the door. 'Come in!' I called. An elf entered the room and spoke in elvish to Arwen.

'He says my father wishes to see me,' she translated for me. 'I must go now. It was an honour to meet you.'

'The honour is all mine. _Namarie_,' I said.

'I see you already know some of our language already. How can that be?' she asked, puzzled.

'In my world, there are some people who know a lot of your language, like one of my friends. I learnt _namarie _from her,' I explained.

'Ah. Well, I really must go now. _Namarie_!' she said, and left.

I sat down on my bed and thought about what she had said. _'You have come here for a reason. You just need to find out what that reason is.' _I flopped back on the bed, relaxing into the soft mattress and pillows. I drifted into sleep, still exhausted from last night. It seemed so long ago now…

When I woke up the sun was low in the sky, and it was getting dusky. _'I must have slept for hours,' _I thought. I got up and saw that all the stuff that had been on my bed was now on the floor. _'Bugger!' _I picked it all up, shrunk it and put it back in my bag, pausing to flick through the photo album. I stopped at the picture of me with Jasmine and Lauren- taken before last year's Yule Ball. A wave of nostalgia swept over me and for the first time I realised that I was homesick. Everyone and everything was so nice here, but I still missed my friends a lot… I even missed my parents and sisters, which was weird because I had become used to not seeing them for months at a time. _'Maybe it's because I'm in a different world now…' _I thought.

I heard a soft knock on the door. '_Boy, they sure do interrupt you a lot here,' _I thought. Out loud I called 'Come in!'

The same elf that had called for Arwen entered. 'It is almost time for dinner my lady,' he said. 'Lord Elrond asks you to prepare yourself.'

'I didn't realise I'd slept so long!' I said. 'What does he mean by "Prepare myself"?'

'It is not customary of our people to attend a banquet dressed in those… clothes,' he replied, looking distastefully at my muddy jeans and vest top. _'It's probably too revealing,' _I thought. 'Well, what should I wear?'

'I believe there are some dresses in the wardrobe,' he said, nodding towards the wardrobe I had looked in earlier.

I gasped. 'Really? Wow! Great… How long do I have to get changed?'

'You will hear a bell in ten minutes. The dining room is next to Elrond's Hall,' the elf said.

'Thank you very much. I'll be along soon.' The elf nodded and left. I opened the wardrobe to choose a dress. _'There are so many! I can't choose!' _

It was a hard decision, but I finally just closed my eyes and jabbed at random. It turned out to be a gorgeous pale blue silk dress with a white muslin overlay, which was embroidered with beads and flowers. It took a while to get on (couldn't find anything to do it up with…) but eventually I was ready. I made my way down to the dining room, from which wonderful smells were emanating (A/N: new word! Just had to use it…).

I entered, looking around the room. Seated at the table were the four hobbits and Aragorn, quite a few elves including Arwen, and an old bearded man who must have been Gandalf. I didn't know what to do- where was I supposed to sit? Luckily there was an elf at the door, who guided me to an empty seat beside the hobbits.

'Vanessa!'

'Where have you been?'

'It's ages since we saw you!'

'When's the food coming?' they all shouted in quick succession.

I laughed. 'That's my name, don't wear it out! I have been in my room- I fell asleep. It hasn't been that long since I saw you! And I don't know when the food is coming- sorry Pippin,' I replied to all of them in one go. I was glad to see that Frodo was up and about, even if he did look a bit ill.

Pippin looked crestfallen, but he didn't have long to wait before even more elves came in carrying huge steaming platters of meat and fish, bowls of vegetables and baskets of bread and fruit. Not to mention the great barrels of wine and ale that were being rolled in! I had never seen so much food in one place before!

Once all the food had been laid on the table, Elrond (seated at the head of the table) stood up and raised his glass.

'Welcome to our esteemed guests. Travellers, I know that you are weary. Let your stomachs be satisfied and your feet rested! But before we begin the banquet, a few introductions are in order.' As Elrond turned to me, so did every other head in the room. 'Vanessa, please will you introduce yourself to us?'

I stood up, completely stumped as to what I should say about myself. 'Uhhh… well, as Lord Elrond said, my name is Vanessa- Vanessa Potter.' Great start. 'I'm 15 years old, and I come from Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is in a country called England, which is far away from here in another world. I don't know exactly how or why I got here, I just walked through a curtain and ended up on a path running through a wood,' I said. What else was I supposed to say? 'Oh yeah, and I'm a witch.' Many faces stared blankly at me. I sighed. 'A witch is a like female wizard, except my magic is very different to wizard's magic here.' How many times would I have to explain this? I looked at Elrond, who nodded signalling me to sit down. I did.

'Now let us eat!' Elrond said. The hobbits dug in greedily as if they hadn't eaten for a week. I was starving too- I hadn't eaten since last night. Or was it before that? I wasn't bothered, I only cared that there was food in front of me and I could eat it.

The food was delicious, even if it was a bit different from food back home. After about an hour Elrond stood up again, signalling the end of the banquet. Everyone else got up too and left.

I was just about to leave when Elrond called me back. I turned and saw him standing with Gandalf, holding my book.

'I want to return your book to you. I have read some of it, but after seeing what it tells I think that it is a bad idea for me to read any further. I can foresee some things that might come to pass, but having complete knowledge of the future is dangerous. I did not think it wise to discover the outcome of the journey that the Nine Walkers are about to embark upon,' he said as he gave back the book. I thought that was sensible.

It was Gandalf's turn to speak. 'Lord Elrond has told me a lot about you. From what I've heard, you probably know who I am already.'

'Yes- you're Gandalf the Grey aren't you?'

'Correct. Lord Elrond also told me that you are a witch and possess some powerful magic. Would you mind demonstrating for me?' he asked.

'What should I do?'

'What can you do? I have been told that you managed to defeat one of the Nazgul. That is quite a feat in a person so young.'

'Yes- Aragorn said I killed it.'

'Oh no, you did not kill it. There was nothing left there to die. By the sound of it you merely split its soul from its form, sending it back to where it was made. It will be a while before it is able to do anything, but it still exists.'

I was shocked at this explanation. There I was, thinking I'm all powerful killing a ringwraith, and it turns out my Avada Kedavra wasn't powerful enough. Or maybe ringwraiths just can't die, except when pierced in the face by cross-dressing shieldmaidens.

Gandalf must have sensed my discomfort, because he quickly changed the subject. 'Would you show me some of your other abilities please?'

'Oh yeah, sure. Ummm…' _'aaack! What am I going to do?' _'Wingardium Leviosa!' I said, pointing my wand at a jug on the feast table. Unfortunately, there was still some wine in the jug, which poured out, splashing Elrond and Gandalf's robes with red wine. 'Ooops…' I said. Both looked at me with mingled expressions of shock and anger. I levitated the jug down again quickly and said 'Scourgify!' The wine disappeared from their robes, leaving them clean again.

'You are correct; your powers are very different from mine. Yet you seem to know some very useful spells. I am certain that there is some definite use for you in this world Vanessa,' Gandalf said.

Elrond nodded. 'I agree with you Gandalf. But whatever that purpose may be, we can leave it until the morning to find out. Come now, it is getting late. You should get some rest Vanessa- you have been under much strain and stress recently.'

I curtsied to him '_who expected those ballet lessons might actually be useful?') _and left the room. I returned to my room quickly to find that someone had laid a nightgown on my bed. I put it on, washed, and then went to bed. Despite my nap earlier I was suddenly very tired and fell asleep almost immediately.

**Hope that cleared some stuff up about Elrond and the book…**

**REVIEW RESPONSES:**

**Wacko the Sane: Pretty much any story where another character falls into ME is a Mary-Sue. If you don't like it then read something else. Simple solution.**

**Primevera Took: Well, Vanessa isn't perfect is she? Besides, as I see it, Elrond is sensible enough not to do anything bad with the information.**

**Arami: Ditto as with Primevera. Also, thank you very much for providing me with an excellent phrase to use in this story. And about the unforgivable curse- no one will know if she doesn't tell them.**

**IwishChan: Thank you! blushes I think Elrond would be able to tell who was trustworthy and who wasn't. That's how I see it anyhoo.**

**coolmarauders: AAAAAAAAAAAH! I'VE UPDATED! PLEASE KEEP AWAY FROM ME WITH YOUR MACE OF DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**


	7. Chapter 7

Well this took a while coming… Yay! Spring Break! No homework… lots of chocolate… mmmmmmm… WARNING: Stronger language used in this chapter. Sorry if that bothers you… 

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine, never was.**

Chapter 7

I woke up next morning around 11 o'clock. '_It's the 24th! The Council!' _I thought. _'Oh yeah… and Jasmine's birthday. Wish I could be there…'_ I was beginning to miss my friends more and more.

I got up, washed and dressed in my Earth clothes, which had been washed. But my school robes were almost too torn to be wearable. _I should throw them out… but I don't want to. That's weird. I always thought I'd love to get rid of my uniform…_

I left my room to see if there was anywhere I could get some food. Even after the huge feast last night, I was a bit hungry. I bumped into Merry in the hall. Surprise surprise, he was carrying food.

'Oh, hi Merry!'

'Morning Vanessa!' he said through a mouthful of bread.

'Can I have one of those rolls? I'm starving!' I asked.

'Sure!' he said as he handed me a white roll.

'Thanks! Where were you going?' I asked, tearing a piece of bread off and eating it.

'Frodo's been summoned to a secret council, but we didn't want to miss it, so Pippin, Sam and I are going anyway. Do you want to come?'

'Oh, sure,' I said, wondering why I hadn't been invited to the Council. In all the Mary-Sues I'd ever read, the character always got to go to the Council (and to be honest, my adventures were quite Mary-Sue-ish).

'Great! I think it's this way…' said Merry, starting off down the corridor in the way he had been headed when I came along.

I followed him. We walked for a little while down corridors, through gardens until we could see a stone circle with many people- elves, men and dwarves, sitting around the edge. We moved closer, and Merry motioned silently for me to follow him. He led me round to where some pillars stood. Pippin was already there.

'What's Nessa doing here?' he whispered to Merry. 'Wasn't she invited to the Council?'

'No, I wasn't. If I was, I wouldn't be here would I?' I answered.

Merry gestured to us to shut up as Elrond had started to speak.

(A/N: We all know how the Council goes so I won't repeat it all as there's no point. If you don't know what happens at the Council, then what are you doing reading this? We continue our story when Pippin and Merry burst in…)

Merry and Pippin burst out from behind the pillars before I could stop them. Elrond looked around as if he was looking to see if more hobbits would burst out of obscure places.

'Wait! We're coming too!' they shouted as they ran to the centre of the stone circle where the rest of the Fellowship were gathered.

'You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!' said Merry.

'Besides, you need people of intelligence on this mission… quest… thing…' added Pippin.

'Well that rules you out Pip,' whispered Merry. Pippin paused while he thought about this, and then frowned.

'Nine companions... So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!' said Elrond. He paused. 'I believe that there is still someone hiding near us. Why haven't they revealed themselves?'

So he knew I was there… _never mind. He didn't seem too cross with the hobbits, I don't think anything's going to happen to me._ I stepped out from behind the pillar.

The members of the Council started to murmur and whisper to each other when they saw me. They had probably never seen someone as young as me wearing strange trousers and a messy ponytail, hiding behind a pillar at a strictly men-only event. I looked down nervously, wondering if Elrond was going to introduce me.

'This is the Lady Vanessa,' he said. 'Some of you may have met her already. She has come to Rivendell from a far off land that none here have ever seen or heard of.'

This explanation, brief though it was, seemed to satisfy everyone. But I was unsure what to do next. Should I step forward and volunteer to join the Fellowship? _No! Wait until someone asks you. They probably don't want a young, inexperienced, foreign girl travelling with them- it would make the whole company more vulnerable, _I thought.

Gradually all the members of the Council drifted away, save the nine that had formed the Fellowship. I was about to leave when Elrond motioned for me to come and join them.

'Would you please all introduce yourselves to Vanessa,' said Elrond. I thought that this wouldn't be a good time to point out that I knew who everyone was anyway.

Aragorn, Gandalf and the hobbits didn't bother introducing themselves, so Legolas stepped up first.

'I am Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Northern Mirkwood,' he said, and bowed. _Cocky show-off,_ I thought.

'And I am Gimli, son of Gloin,' said Gimli. _Whoa. Big beard._

'And I am Boromir, son of Denethor Steward of Gondor,' said Boromir. _He looks too nice to die…_

I nodded to each person, but didn't know what to say other than 'Nice to meet you all.'

'Now I suggest that you all get to know one another a bit better, as you will be travelling together for the next few months at least,' announced Elrond.

'What?' I said.

'I have talked long and hard with Gandalf over the matter, and we both agree that you would be a great asset to the Fellowship,' he explained.

'I can't join the Fellowship! I'm a crap walker, I'm not very strong, I can't fight, and I don't know anything about how to survive in the wilderness for days one end without any way of knowing where the nearest town is!' I objected. It was true- I had always hated walking long distances.

'On the contrary, you can fight very well, as you proved at Weathertop,' said Aragorn. 'Although magic is not the contemporary form of fighting here, it will do. And if you wish to learn how to fight with weapons, I would be glad to teach you.'

'That's very nice of you but really I don't think…'

I was interrupted by Elrond saying 'And as for walking, you will become used to the strain.'

Well, they do have a point. And it would be amazing to join the Fellowship and go through everything they go through! Although running across the Riddermark is going to be hell…

They could see I was weakening. 'Ok, ok, I'll go,' I said.

The hobbits seemed happy at least, but Legolas, Gimli and Boromir looked sceptical. And why wouldn't they? They don't know anything about me.

'I will now leave you to get to know one another better,' said Elrond, and he left.

Everyone looked at me. 'What are you looking at me for?' I asked.

'Aragorn said you can fight. I'd like to see you against Boromir here,' said Gimli.

'I don't think that would be a good idea…' I said.

'I think it's a good idea. Just to give us an idea of your skills. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you,' laughed Boromir. 'Does anyone have a sword for the lady here?'

Legolas silently offered me his. 'It's a bit big…' I said, but Boromir ignored me. I took the sword with one hand. I dropped it immediately. 'Shit that's heavy!' I swore. 'Don't laugh!' I shouted at Boromir, who was indeed laughing.

'I am sorry. I do not mean to mock your actions. But perhaps that sword is too heavy for you?'

'No… you think?' I said sarcastically.

Boromir ignored my sarcasm. 'Do any of you hobbits have a sword?'

'I do. Bilbo gave it to me last night,' said Frodo, offering me Sting. (A/N: I know, wrong timing, but Vanessa needs a sword!)

I took it gladly- it was a lot lighter than Legolas's had been. Boromir raised his sword and before I knew it he was charging towards me. It scared the hell out of me- this huge man running towards me with his sword raised high, ready to attack. I didn't know what to do, so I raised my sword too and tried to block his swing when it came, but it was a lot more forceful than I had expected and Sting was wrenched from my grasp, clattering to the ground. Shit. What am I going to do now? Instinctively I pulled out my wand, and without thinking shouted 'PETRIFICUS TOTALUS'. Boromir froze instantly, his sword in mid-swing, and fell back to the ground, his eyes wide and frightened.

'Oh no! I'm sorry Boromir, I didn't mean to! Reflex action you know…' I said the counter-curse and he was able to move again. Well, technically he was, but he remained still on the floor, shaking slightly, for a bit before he could get up.

Everyone looked at me. Ooops… I should probably have stuck with the sword…

'What was that?' asked Legolas. It was the first time he had spoken to me.

'Uhhh… I guess you could say that's how I fight,' I said.

'With that stick?' said Boromir incredulously.

'It's not a stick, it's a wand!' I replied.

Thankfully, Aragorn stepped in to explain stuff a bit more. 'Vanessa is a witch- a female wizard,' he said. 'In her world there are a lot of people with powers like hers. There is a school for them to learn more about how to do magic, and that is where Vanessa has come from. She is joining us on our quest to destroy the Ring because Lord Elrond clearly thinks that her powers will be of use to us.'

'How can she help us?' asked Gimli.

'You'll find out,' I said.

I was spared from any further annoying questions by the sound of a gong announcing that lunch was being served. Saved by the bell…

**Were you all expecting her to go to the Council? Sorry if I disappointed some of you, but I'm trying to go my own way with this. **

**REVIEW RESPONSES:**

**Arami: Thanks! Sorry I didn't use your phrase in this chapter, but there wasn't really any opportunity to.**

**faeriekittie306animelover: which other HP/LOTR crossover have you read? Cos I like them, but there aren't that many. And yes, in the first chapter it says Vanessa is Harry and Hermione's daughter.**

**IwishChan: Three cheers for Spring Break! Yay!**

**coolmarauders: Right back atcha. I hope your good mood keeps up… prays that the mace of doom never darkens the doorway again**

**Wacko the Sane: what can I say? Forget I said anything… **


	8. Chapter 8

Wow. Over a month since I last updated. That's very bad. smacks hand. Well, it's here now. Enjoy…

This was just a spur-of-the-moment plot change because I wanted to make it more original. William Goldman did pretty much the same thing in 'The Princess Bride' (great book, great movie, highly recommended) and it worked really well, so fingers crossed it will work here.

**DISCLAIMER: If LotR was mine, do you really think I'd be wasting my time writing on fanfic? Hell no! (Not that fanfic is a waste of time by any means)**

I was woken by a bell ringing as an elf entered my room. 'My lady? My lady, it is late- the bell for breakfast has just rung. Lord Elrond wishes to see you.'

I grumbled and pulled the blanket over my head. It was pulled back again by a young-looking (but probably very old) elf. 'Lord Elrond says he must speak to you. I was sent here to bring you back right away.'

The coldness of having no blanket woke me up from the very realistic dream I had had where I joined the Fellowship and whipped Boromir's ass. Heh heh heh.

'My lady?'

'Please, just call me Vanessa. Ok, I'll get dressed.'

The elf seemed satisfied and stepped outside the door. I went over to the wardrobe, wondering whether I should wear my clothes or their clothes. I decided to wear a relatively plain dove-grey dress, which seemed less decorative and ball gown-like so as to fit in and hopefully receive fewer odd stares. Once I had dressed and brushed my hair I left the room. The elf was waiting outside. She led me to the place where I had first seen Elrond and left me outside the door. I knocked, and heard someone inside say 'come in.'

As I entered I noticed that there weren't many other people here at all. Just Elrond, Gandalf and a table with some fruit and bread on it. I wasn't hungry though.

Elrond motioned for me to come forward. I bowed slightly when I reached his chair, as it seemed the right thing to do. Everyone bows a lot around here.

'Do you know why I have summoned you here?' he asked.

'No my lord,' I lied. It's probably something to do with the Fellowship.

'From what little I have read of your book, I assume you know what event is taking place later today?'

'Yes my lord.'

'I can tell you now that for you to attend the Council would be unorthodox and probably frowned upon by some. Nevertheless, I think that it would be unwise for you not to attend. So far, we do not know the purpose of your… visit, but while you are here I think it best that you learn as much as possible about the danger that threatens to overpower this land. Therefore, I would like you to join us at the Council.'

Opposite from the dream. Oh well… Yay! Both Gandalf and Elrond were looking at me as if expecting me to say something. 'Thank you very much. I would love to come.'

'It is settled then,' said Gandalf. 'Well, we should probably be on our way. Some of the guests may already be there.'

Indeed pretty much all the guests were already there. I got a lot of apprehensive looks from all the people there, who (needless to say) were all men. I ignored them and sat down in an empty chair next to Gandalf. Elrond stood up and began to speak.

'You have come and are here met, in this very nick of time, by chance as it may seem. Yet it is not so. Believe rather that it is so ordered that we, who sit here, and none others, must now find council for the peril of the world.'

He went on like this for quite a while before asking Frodo to bring forth the ring. Frodo stepped up and laid it on a stone pedestal. Everyone held their breath for a moment, before whispered murmurings swept round the assembly.

'So it is true...' said Boromir. He stood up and walked slowly towards the ring. 'In a dream, I saw the Eastern side grow dark but in the West a pale light lingered. A voice was crying: 'your doom is near at hand. Isildur's Bane is found!' He reached for the ring, but was cut off by Elrond, who jumped shouting 'Boromir!'

It was Gandalf's turn to stand now. 'Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!' One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and, in the darkness, bind them

The sky grew dark as he said the ominous rhyme, and members of the Council winced as though they were in pain. The words did not affect me though.

Suddenly, everything was normal again. Boromir sat down, and Elrond took his head out of his hands saying 'Never before has any voice uttered the words of the tongue here in Imladris.'

'I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond, for the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West! The Ring is altogether evil,' Gandalf gruffly.

But Boromir, stubborn man that he is, would not give up. 'It is a gift! A gift to the foes of Mordor! Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!'

However, Aragorn would have none of it. 'You cannot wield it! None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master.'

'And what would a ranger know of this matter?' sneered Boromir.

An elf who appeared to be Legolas stood up and spoke for the first time. 'This is no mere ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance.'

Boromir could not believe it. 'Aragorn? This... is Isildur's heir?

'And heir to the throne of Gondor,' said Legolas.

Frodo, sitting two seats away from me, also looked disbelievingly at Legolas.

'Havo dad Legolas Sit down Legolas' said Aragorn patiently.

'Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king.' Boromir returned to his seat, sighing moodily.

Gandalf spoke again. 'Aragorn is right. We cannot use it.

'You have only one choice. The Ring must be destroyed,' said Elrond.

'What are we waiting for?' cried a dwarf who must have been Gimli. He grabbed his axe and ran towards the pedestal, shouting as he brought his axe down on the ring as hard as he could, but he was thrown back and fell to the ground. I saw Frodo wince in pain. He has seen the Eye…

'The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin by any craft that we here possess,' said Elrond. 'The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.'

The ring began to whisper.

'One of you must do this,' Elrond continued.

There was a deadly silence, which was broken by Boromir saying, 'One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland. Riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly!'

This simple comment sparked an argument amongst all who were present, save Frodo and I. Frodo was watching the ring, where the angry figures of the council were reflected on the shiny surface. Suddenly, flames flared up and engulfed the ring. It was whispering again, louder now. _Ash Nazg Durbatuluk! Ash Nazg Gimbatul! Ash Nazg Durbatuluk! Ash Nazg Gimbatul!_

The argument got more and more heated.

Frodo stood up, and cried 'I will take it! I will take it!'

The argument stopped as everyone turned to look at the little hobbit with surprised looks on their faces.

'I will take the Ring to Mordor,' said Frodo again. 'Though... I do not know the way.'

Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Boromir all pledged to accompany Frodo as far as they could.

It was at this point that Sam burst out of the bushes to stand beside Frodo. 'Hey! Mr. Frodo is not goin' anywhere without me!'

Elrond looked slightly amused. 'No indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not.'

Not to be outdone by a gardener, Merry and Pippin ran forward from behind some pillars. 'Wait! We are coming too!'

'You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!' said Merry.

'Anyway you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission, quest... thing,' said Pippin.

'Well that rules you out Pip,' whispered Merry.

Elrond put on his impressive voice. 'Nine companions... So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!'

Pippin spoke up again. 'Great! Where are we going?'

I was in Elrond's meeting hall, talking to him. Gandalf was there too. I was trying not to look too disappointed that I wasn't in the Fellowship.

'I hope that you weren't expecting to join the Fellowship?' asked Elrond.

'No, of course I wasn't!' I assured him. _Liar…_

'I see that you do not tell the whole truth. In which case, I will say this to you: it would have been impossible for you to accompany the Fellowship on their journey. Do not take offence at my words, but you are a woman, and a young one at that. I fear that you would hold the Fellowship back from their duties. You are new to this world- you have no knowledge of how to survive here, you cannot even fight. Your magic will not be enough to hold off bands of orcs, should they attack. Suffice to say that you would not survive long on the journey that faces the Nine.'

I didn't like this one bit, but I could see his point. After all, it was the Nine Walkers. There couldn't be ten Nine Walkers, it's mathematically impossible.

I nodded in acceptance and took my leave, returning to my room.

Was it a bad idea for the last chapter to just be a dream? Anyhoo, it's done now.

**REVIEW RESPONSES:**

**Wacko the Sane: Maybe you should give up on this altogether… you don't seem to like it very much. It's ok with me though.**

**IwishChan: Yup, Boromir deserved what was coming to him! And ok, so it was only in the dream that that happened, but perhaps it'll happen again sometime…**

**Coolmarauders: SO SORRY this update wasn't quick! I'm getting a bit tired of your Mace of Doom. I shall zap it with the awesome power of the Lightsaber of Zapiness.**

**Faeriekittyanimelover: yeah that's quite good. Not as good as this one though… :p jk. **


	9. Chapter 9

From now on updates will probably be about once a month. Although hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter up in June cos this is so short.

Also, although I said this wasn't meant to be a Mary-Sue and that I hoped it didn't come across as one at the beginning of this story, it really is a Mary-Sue by definition. It's just a different one… with Rivendell instead of Rivendale (seriously, you get that a lot)

**What's happening in this chapter is simple: I can't be bothered to write about everything she did in Rivendell until Christmas where it all gets interesting, and you probably can't be bothered to read it, so here are some diary entries that Nessa might have written if she had a diary with her.**

**DISCLAIMER: not mine **

OCTOBER 31ST (Halloween)

Tried to make the Hobbits understand the whole 'Trick or Treat' process. They loved the idea, and we tried it out on Legolas, but he wasn't in his room so we egged the door. Managed to find a pumpkin (who knew elves had pumpkins?) and carved it into what was meant to be a scary face. Worked quite well actually. Managed to make Boromir jump when he saw it hanging from a tree with a candle in it. Tee hee! Unfortunately I couldn't find anything to dress up in, but it was some consolation that the clothes I was wearing would easily be counted as costume back home. I didn't dress up cos I didn't have a costume, but I did teach Merry and Pippin the basic principals of trick-or-treating.

NOVEMBER 5TH (Bonfire Night)

Had a chat with Gandalf and explained about Guy Fawkes, bonfires, fireworks etc. He said he thought he could find some fireworks somewhere that hadn't been let off at Bilbo's Party. He only found a couple of Roman Candle type things but it was fun sitting round a fake fire I conjured up (to the amazement of Gimli, Legolas and Boromir).

NOVEMBER 17TH

In all the excitement of coming here I completely forgot about my broom. I always keep it shrunken in a secret pocket in my bag, so it won't fall out. And you never know when you'll need a broom. I took it to a clearing where I thought I wouldn't be seen and mounted, pushing up from the ground like I used to back home. It was so amazing flying again! I lost track of time and didn't even realise it was getting dark until I heard a scream from below in the forest. I dived down and landed- a bit badly since I hadn't flown in a month- to find Sam staring at me open-mouthed. 'You were flying!' he said. _How's that for stating the obvious?_ 'Yeah,' I replied. Seeing that this hadn't made any difference, I explained further. 'Back in my world wizards and witches use brooms to fly from place to place. We also play games on them- especially Quidditch which is the most popular game in the wizarding world. It's too complicated to explain though since I don't have any of the things you need to play.' Sam still looked astonished. 'Wait til I tell the others!' he finally said. 'No Sam, I'd rather you didn't tell anyone else about this,' I objected. 'Why?' 'I just… I just think it would be better if they didn't know. They think I'm odd enough already.'

DECEMBER 24TH (Christmas Eve)

I wish I was at home… no one here knows about Christmas. The Fellowship are leaving tomorrow without me and I'm going to be so lonely… I don't know anyone else here apart from Elrond and Arwen, and they aren't exactly the funnest of people. No offence to Arwen, but she just sits all day sewing banners for Aragorn.

I know it's stupid but I have to go. I can't stay in Rivendell, I have to find a way home. If I could get to Lothlorien perhaps Galadriel could help me. But that means going with the Fellowship and I'm not allowed to do that. Unless…

Didja like it?

REVIEW RESPONSES:

KellseyKisaragi: Thanks! I think it works too. Hope this lived up to expectations.

Primevara Took: Sorry I took so long updating… I feel really guilty now…  thanks for sticking with me!

Fk306 animelover: She'll get many more chances to kick ass don't worry! Sorry, I know this was slow in coming.

Coolmarauders: yay! Anymoose! If I had a lightsaber it would be pink. Actually, I do have a lightsaber. A free one from a cornflakes box anymoose. Apparently it's Yoda's, which is cool cos he's totally the best character (even though Anakin is incredibly hot). Whoa, long note!

IwishChan: Maybe she will, maybe she won't… Boromir's got a lot more coming don't worry!


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